I come from
The Rural midwest
It's the land I love more than all the rest
It's the place I know
And can understand
Like a false front building
Like the back of my hand
And the men I knew when I was coming up
Were as sober as coffee in a Styrofoam cup
There were Earl's and Ray's, Harlans and Roys
They were full grown men they were Barbed wire boys
They raised Grain and cattle
On the treeless Fields
Set up at the head of the table
And pray before meals
They prayed an our father
And that was enough
If you prayed more than that
Then you couldnt stay tough
Tough as The busted thumbnails on their weathered hands
They worked the gold plate off their wedding bands
And they never complained,
No they never made noise
And they never left home
These Barbed wire boys
Cause their wildest dreams
Were all fenced in
By the weight of family
By the feeling of sin
That'll prick your skin
At the slightest touch
If you reach to far
If you feel too much
So their deepest hopes
Never were expressed
Just beating like birds wings
In the cage of their chests
All the restless longings
All the secret joys
That were never set free
In the barbed wire boys
Now one by one
They're departing this earth
And its clear to me now
Exactly what they're worth
Oh they were just like Atlas
Holding up the sky
You never heard him speak
You never saw him cry
But where do the tears go
That you never shed
Where do the words go
That you never said
There's a blink of the eye
There's a catch in the voice
That is the unsung song
Of the barbed wire boys